Doctors at the Catholic University of Korea's Seoul St. Mary's Hospital said they had been treating her after they discovered colon cancer she was treated for in 2008 had recurred, and spread to her lungs.

Her 2008 cancer operation was a success, with her returning to the TV screen in the SBS drama "Working Mom," only three weeks after the operation.

The cancer was in remission for years, but recurred recently. She was admitted to St. Mary's on Nov. 14, after her condition deteriorated rapidly.

She died during treatment in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), with her exact cause of death listed as complications caused by lung cancer, according to the doctors.

Appearing on numerous TV dramas including last year's "A Woman who Got Married Three Times," on KBS and tvN's entertainment show "Grandmothers over Flowers," she was noted for her "perkiness."

Her perkiness started in 1996, in her mid-40s, when she released a single called, "The Princess is Lonely," sparking nationwide syndrome of middle-aged women indulging themselves in being a "princess."

She is survived by her husband, and two children.

A memorial altar has been set up at the Seoul St. Mary's in Gangnam, southern Seoul.